About Us

Narcotics Anonymous is a global, community-based organization. Our membership is diverse both in language and culture. Today, there are nearly 76,000 NA meetings held weekly in 143 countries. We offer freedom from addiction through working a twelve-step program, including regular attendance at group meetings. The group atmosphere provides an ongoing support network for addicts who wish to pursue and maintain a drug-free lifestyle.

We do not focus on any particular drug, including alcohol. Membership is free, and we are not affiliated with any organizations outside of NA, including governments, religions, law enforcement groups, and medical and psychiatric associations. Our hope is that every addict in the world will one day have an opportunity to experience our message of recovery in their own language and culture.

History of NA in Northwestern Ontario

Narcotics Anonymous was founded in California in 1953. Following the publication of our Basic Text in 1983, membership in NA increased dramatically.

The first Narcotics Anonymous meeting in Canada took place in September 1967 in Victoria, British Columbia. Membership growth was minimal during the late 1960s, and in 1967 there were only 15 meetings worldwide. But by the late 1970's, the Fellowship in Canada began to stablize.

The first registered NA group in Ontario, "The First Step Group", first met on May 7, 1981 in Sudbury. During that same year, the first group in the Northwestern Ontario Area, "Freedom Group", met in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Although attendance at meetings in Thunder Bay fluctuated, and meeting locations often changed, the Fellowship in Thunder Bay began to grow and by the late 1980's the Northwestern Ontario Area Service Committee was formed.

Today, there are five registered groups in the Northwestern Ontario Area, including one in Fort Frances, Ontario. The COVID-19 pandemic presented many challenges for our Fellowship during 2020. However, our Area started an online group to reach addicts who could no longer attend in-person meetings, and we now have meetings in our Area seven nights a week.